Choice of Sacrifice
by AngelZash
Summary: TenRose After Rose is hurt in an accident, she becomes afraid of being left behind by the Doctor while the Doctor becomes afraid of her being hurt even worse in their future adventures. Then something threatens Rose's world again and decisions have to ma
1. A Needed Prologue

Author's Note: I've been going a little Doctor Who crazy lately, when not going crazy over work, which has ended for the moment. So basically I decided to write this. The prologue isn't absolutely necessary to the rest of the story, but the rest of the story is better understood if you read the prologue first. So here you go. I'll try to get more out soon. Enjoy!

Disclaimer (for the entire story): I only thought of this particular plot. I'm too young and poor to own the world and characters of Doctor Who. So, sue only if you want my many bills and school loan debts.

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Rose stared as she watched the Doctor being steadily forced back to the edge of the platform. She fought against the clawed hands that held her and screamed for them to stop. One of the hands slipped, tearing her shirt. Rose lunged forward, but was pulled back again and the hand regained its hold.

The Doctor looked sadly at her, his eyes seemingly taking in her torn shirt. The new hole had ripped from the shoulder seam to her collar and lay curled downward, exposing her bra strap and the top of her breast. His sad look suddenly turned into a frown. Then he grinned.

"Well, I don't think we need to be hanging around here any longer, do we, Rose?"

Rose blinked in slight confusion then shook her head.

A bright light and sudden, loud boom rocked through the room. Rose let out a small scream before she could stop herself. Then she let out an even louder scream as one of the creatures' long nails scraped over her collarbone, slicing through the flesh as though it was little more than butter.

"Rose!" She could hear running footsteps as someone she thought to be the Doctor ran toward her. 

She let out a pained gasp as something soft was pressed to her chest. Then the sonic screwdriver's blue glow appeared and was thrust over her shoulder. The hands fell away and she was pulled forward into a strong chest. The Doctor's scent enveloped her and she realized they were going to win.

"Back off! This is over now!" The Doctor's chest rumbled under her cheek as he yelled. She smiled and squeezed her arms around him. "Rose?"

"Sorry, I'm all right. Just glad you are."

The sonic screwdriver was still pointed at their former captors. The Doctor began backing away from them as he answered. "Come on, then. We have to get back to the TARDIS. I can take care of you there. And them."

Rose nodded and pulled away from him. She could feel her wound peel away from his suit as she went and hoped he wouldn't be too upset over it. She looked behind the Doctor and could just barely make out the lift that would take them to the level the TARDIS was on. "Way's clear. I can't see anyone between us and the lift."

"Good…" the Doctor said. Then he spun her around and towards the lift, screaming, "Then run for it!"

Rose ran, her chest burning as though it had been poured acid on it. She felt her strength leaving her as she went, but she managed to stumble into the lift, falling to the ground and panting.

The Doctor got in after her and immediately used the sonic screwdriver to close the doors and start it up. Once it was moving, he glanced down at her. It scared Rose how suddenly his determined look took on one of almost pure anger. He tried to hide it, but his narrowed eyes and thinned lips never quite went back to normal. The Doctor dug into a pocket in his trench coat and pulled out a huge white square of cloth. Rose wondered how he could have fit it in his pocket in the first place.

"Here," the Doctor said, throwing her the cloth. "Press this to your wound."

Rose nodded and folded it neatly before looking down to see where she'd be pressing it. It was hard to tell in the dim light of the activated lift, but she was at first struck by how clean the wound was. A perfect line running from just under the start of one side of her collar to just under the other side, in total a half foot long. However, it must have been deep. Her once light blue t-shirt was now entirely soaked crimson with blood. Rose swallowed and pressed the cloth to her wound.

"If this is respect for the female sex, then I don't want to know what constitutes disrespect," Rose told the Doctor weakly.

The Doctor sighed, "That was probably an accident. Normally, the Tronch would rather die than harm a woman. Except under certain circumstances."

"Certain circumstances?"

"When the lift stops, I want you to run straight to the TARDIS. I'll take care of any obstacles there may be." The Doctor examined the control panel. "And this should happen any second now. Get ready, Rose!"

Rose stood with some difficulty. Her feet kept slipping out from beneath her; her free hand too, where she used it to lean on the wall for support. Her body was weak and sore all over and she couldn't seem to catch her breath.

"Rose?"

Rose nodded, smiling at the Doctor's worried look. There were times that reminded her just how much he did care. She stumbled over next to him and leaned again the door frame. "I'll be fine, Doctor. Might be a bit slow though."

The Doctor didn't even crack a joke and Rose knew he was _really_ worried about her. A warm feeling flared in her chest that had nothing to do with her wound.

"Run," the Doctor snapped, just before the door slid open.

Rose tensed and threw herself out. But she no longer had the strength to make it far. She tripped before she'd gone more than a foot. Rose gave a cry as the Doctor's arm wrapped around her waist, stopping her from hitting the floor, but also knocking her arm that held the makeshift bandage against her wound.

"Shh…" The Doctor lifted her gently into his arms. "It's deserted. That distraction was even bigger than I'd hoped for."

'Typical,' Rose thought as she cuddled up to the Doctor and inhaled his scent. She tried not to think about how heavy she must be for him. She clenched her teeth against the pain as the Doctor's already slow speed slowed even further. Then he stopped altogether and put her on her feet. He held her close to him for a moment as she got used to standing again, then reached out and unlocked the door.

"Better carry you in. We've got to get out of here fast," the Doctor said, sweeping her back into his arms.

"You can put me down now," Rose told him in a breathy voice. "We're practically in the TARDIS."

"And you can't stand you've lost so much blood." The Doctor carried her inside and sat her down in a chair by the console. "Just sit there. I'll get the TARDIS ready while we wait for—" A couple of high beeps and bleeps filled the air and the Doctor smiled grimly. "That's got it!" He pressed a few buttons and pulled a lever.

Outside the Tardis, Rose could hear more explosions and the low, guttural scream of the Tronch. She glanced at the doorway, then back at the Doctor. "Doctor?"

"And here we go," the Doctor cried, not acknowledging her unspoken question. He pulled a few levers, pushed a few buttons and the core of the TARDIS began to make its customary noise as it hurtled them through time and space.

Rose shook her head, feeling lightheaded all a sudden. She took a deep breath, then another and another. She felt as though she couldn't breathe. She pressed the cloth tighter to herself, trying to use the pain as a means of staying awake. She barely felt it now though. She wondered if she should worry about that. Maybe she'd ask the Doctor…

"Doctor?" Rose's voice came out thin and breathy. He didn't seem to hear her, lost as he was in directing the TARDIS. She gulped and tried again, "Doctor—" It came out with more sound and urgency this time, but it had cost her. She could feel herself falling, without the strength to stop it. The last thing Rose saw before consciousness left her was the Doctor, a look of horror on his face as he turned in time to see her hit the floor.

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When Rose woke up, everything around her was dark. She blinked the fuzz out of her eyes and flinched at an aborted yawn. Her chest was refusing to expand for more than a regular-sized breath, and even that burned somewhat. She groaned and shifted where she lay.

The alarmed voice of the Doctor immediately floated to her out of the darkness, "Rose?" The light snapped on and she winced at the brightness. "Sorry." The light obligingly dimmed for her and she simply closed her eyes until they could finish adjusting.

"Doctor," she asked, her voice still weak, "what happened?"

The Doctor moved to stand over her. He placed one cool hand on her forehead and smiled sadly down at her. "Your Tronch guard was frightened a little much by the core's delayed reaction to my chemicals. One of his claws sliced you pretty deep across the chest…"

Rose raised one hand and felt about her collarbone. It was covered in gauze, but it didn't seem to hurt. She pressed down on it a bit and winced as pain shot through her. The Doctor's hand quickly covered hers and lifted it away.

The Doctor continued to hold her hand in a tight grip. "Tronch claws seem to secrete a poison, which, when introduced directly into the body, will slow and hinder the natural healing process. I've healed it as much as I could, but it's still very raw."

Rose squeezed the Doctor's hand, "Will I have a scar?"

The Doctor averted his gaze. "I had to make up an antidote. Too much time elapsed. I think I was in time to keep it from being too bad though."

"Guess it's high-necked shirts for me from now on…" Rose sighed, but smiled up at the Doctor. "It's not your fault you know."

The Doctor smiled down at her. His thumb began to gently caress the back of her hand. "Still, I rather liked some of your lower cut shirts."

Rose grinned at him. Her eyes, though still pained, seemed to light up with happiness. "Well, maybe if the scar's not too bad…"

The Doctor grinned at that, though it was still tinged with sadness.

"Were you afraid I would die," Rose asked him. The look had made her curious and she figured now was as good a time as any to see where she stood with the Doctor.

The Doctor nodded. "You were bleeding badly. And Jackie would kill me and all my remaining regenerations if I let you die!" The Doctor shuddered as he spoke of Rose's mother.

Rose giggled, and raised her free hand to entangle it in the Doctor's lapels. "Well, it would have been my choice. I choose to go with you, to stay with you. And I've never been happier in all my life as I am with you."

The Doctor's smile turned a bit sadder, but he nodded. "I'm glad, but I still failed at keeping you safe. That's my job." The Doctor lost his smile entirely as his hand opened to release Rose's.

Rose tightened her grip and stared straight into the Doctor's eyes. "I told you it was my fault!"

The Doctor shook his head and dropped his eyes to stare at Rose's hand clinging to his.

A wave of terror swept through Rose as a sudden thought occurred to her. "Y-you're not going to leave me, are you? You won't just drop me off with my mother and disappear, will you?"

The Doctor's eyes shot to her own and she knew he'd been thinking about it.

"You can't! You can't! I don't want to leave you! I knew what might happen when I first joined you! You can't just-just-"

Rose gasped as her air supply ran out. Her chest felt like it was on fire, when had that started? She gasped and panted and clung to the Doctor's hand.

The Doctor bent over her and reached across her panting chest. When he drew back, he had settled a mask over her mouth and nose. "Breathe, Rose, just breathe. I won't leave you this time. And I promise I won't ever just disappear. You'll know when it's time for us to part."

Rose stared up at the Doctor, her eyes wide. Her chest began to loosen and her breathing became easier. She felt the Doctor pet her hair just above her forehead. She wanted to tell him he'd better keep his promise. She wanted to shake him until he promised he'd never leave her period. But she still didn't have enough breath for it, so she stared up into his kind brown eyes. He smiled down at his companion.

"Sleep now, Rose," he encouraged her. "I'll be here when you wake up."

She didn't want to, but a few moments later she found herself enveloped in the hazy darkness of sleep.


	2. To Start the Day

Not sure I'm happy with this, but... Sorry if I'm a little off on the accents and terms. I've lived in Glasgow, been to London a couple times and was partly raised by my Scottish grandparents, but all that did was kill my accent to where no one can tell where in America I come from. shrugs So, please forgive in errors in that way and if you correct me or give me pointers on doing better, I'll be forever grateful!

I hope everyone enjoys! And I'm glad that you enjoyed the Prologue. Thank you for all the lovely reviews! I hope you all enjoy this chapter just as much. Even if it does have some introspection...

Of course, as always, I adore constructive criticism. .

Rose poked her head out from her cocoon of blankets to glare at her alarm clock. It read that it was seven o'clock in the morning, but the sounds from the kitchen indicated that the Doctor had decided it was closer to nine o'clock. She'd made him promise to wait until _at least_ then to do anything noisy in the kitchen. She was still healing from her encounter with the Tronch the week before and needed her sleep.

Groaning, Rose dug her way out from under her pink duvet and pushed herself to her feet. Her chest still burned slightly at the action, but it had improved to where it was barely noticeable now. She padded over to her robe and threw it on before continuing out the door.

The smell of cooking bacon and burning toast greeted Rose in the hallway. She followed the aroma to where the Doctor stood attempting to flip a pancake using only his skills with a frying pan. It didn't seem that he had much skill by the way he kept trying the same motion with his arm over and over again.

Rose shook her head. "Doctor, what are you doing? It's only seven!"

The Doctor started and the jump seemed to run right through his arm. The pancake finally left the pan still in his hand, flew into air and came back down to land on the Doctor's head. He turned and stared at Rose accusingly as the half-cooked pancake dribbled down his hair and face.

Rose stifled her laughter and lifted a hand to hide the smile that had managed to force its way out. The Doctor's frown deepened. Rose stepped forward and pulled off a large piece of the more solidified part of the pancake. "You know, you might wanna cook that a little better before trying to flip it next time."

"I had it all under control until you came barging in. Ruined everything! Couldn't you have warned me you were standing there?" The Doctor's look turned petulant.

Rose grinned and reached for a hand towel. She started wiping the dripping pancake off him. "I don't think it would have turned out any differently if I had. You're just a cocky cook."

The Doctor gave a slight growl and took the towel from her. "Fine then! You can finish making breakfast." He turned and started out of the kitchen.

Rose laughed and called after him, "It'll be safer that way!"

"Cheeky!" Rose heard a slap. "Ahh!"

"What's the meaning of making so much racket so early on a Saturday morning! Be quiet or go back to where you came from," Rose heard her mother's voice ring out from down the hall.

Rose shook her head and turned back to the stove. Grabbing the abandoned frying pan, she poured some more batter into it and reached for a spatula. She heard her mother shuffle into the room and sit down at the small table behind her.

"Morning, Rose. Did you cause the destruction of my kitchen or was that him?"

Rose looked around her and noticed for the first time that the counter was full of broken egg shells, covered in white power and had spots where the Doctor had obviously dropped some bacon grease. The floor near the counter was also coated with the white flour and she could make out hers and the Doctor's footsteps in the powder. Rose sighed and flipped the pancake.

"This was him. He imagines himself a better cook than he really is."

Jackie snorted, "Is there any hot water for tea at least?"

Rose looked over at the kettle and nodded. "Yeah, hold on." She flipped the pancake, tested it and then added it to a plate of three others the Doctor had managed to finish already. After spraying the pan and pouring more batter into it, Rose got down three tea cups. She threw a tea bag in each and added the hot water.

"Here. You'll have to add your own fixings," Rose told her mother as she slowly moved all three cups to the table.

"Ah, good! One for me too then." Rose looked up at the doorway to see the Doctor grinning at her, his eyes bright, his skin glistening and his hair still dripping slowly onto his already wet shirt.

Rose rolled her eyes and turned back to the stove. "That was fast."

"Was just a little batter. Though I think Jackie here's slap might have cooked it a bit more."

Rose had her back to the Doctor and her mother, but she could just see the glare her mother was shooting the probably grinning Time Lord. She got down some plates and checked her pancake.

"You really need a bigger frying pan, Mum. Just enough to cook two pancakes at a time anyway," Rose told her mother as she brought over first the plates, then the burnt bacon.

"Don't really need it, do I? With you off running around who knows where? Or when!"

"Not even for your boyfriend, Jackie? I seem to remember his dressing gown indicating he has a healthy appetite."

A long pause followed that. Unnerved at the silence, Rose turned to see Jackie glaring at the Doctor. She sighed and shook her head. Her mother was easy to annoy in the morning and it seemed the Doctor felt like playing with fire today.

"Well, Rose and I will have to go shopping after breakfast anyway. You two clean me out of food every time you come by for a visit. Who said you could join us for meals anyway?"

"Mum," Rose exclaimed, throwing an irritated look over her shoulder. The glance had been quick, but she had noticed her mother didn't seem particularly annoyed or angry. And the Doctor was still grinning.

'Leave it to those two,' Rose thought, 'to argue for fun first thing in the morning.'

"I'll come along to carry your bags to make up for it."

Now Rose thought she might have heard a faint growl come from her mother. "No, you won't. You're going to clean up my kitchen. It could be condemned for all you've done to it."

"It's not that bad…" Rose detected a hurt tone creeping into the Doctor's voice.

"Then you won't mind taking care of it," she told him, turning off the stove and bringing over the pancakes.

"You too, Rose?" He turned large brown eyes on her in what she considered to be his version of a puppy-dog look. It usually had the power to do her in, but Rose wasn't going to fall for it today.

"You did make the mess, Doctor." She got out the rest of their condiments and sat down to her own breakfast.

"You cooked the pancakes," he told her.

"You'd already made a mess mixing them. And cooking the bacon. How did you make such a mess cooking bacon?"

The Doctor swallowed his latest bite. "See if I ever cook for you again…"

"It's already a rare enough occasion I doubt I'll even notice."

"He cooks for you on the TARDIS," Jackie asked, her tone incredulous.

"Oi!" The Doctor threw Jackie a genuine hurt look. "You don't think I take care of her?"

"Judging by the bacon, no."

"Well, that's gratitude for you," the Doctor grumbled. "I save the world, you and your daughter how often, and this is the treatment I get."

"You still need to clean the kitchen," Rose told him, taking a bite of her pancakes.

"Fine, fine. You two go off and enjoy yourselves while I bond with the dishes."

"And don't forget the floors," Jackie told him.

"Or the counter! Don't want it getting jealous." Rose grinned as the Doctor gave an exaggerated sigh. She reached over to pat his hand. "Maybe if you're good, I'll bring you something back."

The Doctor frowned. "You're patronizing me…"

Rose laughed. She controlled an urge to kiss his forehead. His hair was bad enough without being sticky with whatever syrup had managed to cling to her mouth while she ate.

"Then again…" The Doctor leaned back in his chair, seemingly deep in thought about something. "Some Jelly Babies would be nice. My fourth self used to love them and I've been thinking about having some again lately."

Rose shifted in her seat. His fourth incarnation. Wasn't that about the time he'd known Sarah Jane? A shot of emotion, fear and sadness all rolled into one, surged through her. Rose finished up her pancake and hoped her feelings didn't show on her face.

"I'm going to get ready," Jackie announced, standing.

Rose looked up and nodded. "Yeah, I'd better go too."

"Hey," the Doctor exclaimed as she stood up. "Who's going to help me clean the table?"

"We already told you, that's your job." Rose smiled at him and turned to follow her mother.

"Rose." The Doctor's serious tone made her stop and look back at him. His sharp eyes seemed to search her face for the answers to unasked questions. She shook her head, he'd probably just noticed her reaction to the reference to his fourth incarnation.

"I'll be out in a few minutes!"

She thought she heard him grumble something to the effect of, "Few minutes, my foot," but she wasn't at all annoyed by it.

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"So what's happened between you two?"

The question came out of nowhere a couple hours later as Rose and her mother looked through the breads on their way to the milk. They'd actually just been discussing the merits of buying some doughnuts and Rose had wondered what type the Doctor would prefer, since the grocery didn't have his favorite.

Rose stopped and turned to stare at her mother. "What do you mean? The Doctor just thought I'd recover better at home where nothing bad would happen to interrupt."

Jackie shook her head and locked onto her daughter with a look that Rose knew. It meant that she wasn't going to escape without telling her mother everything she wanted to know.

"You know what I mean. You've fancied him almost from the start. And that was when he still looked much too old for you instead just too old. What's happened between you since then? You two are as close as I've seen anyone, and that includes married couples."

Rose sighed and tossed a pack of jelly doughnuts in her hand basket. "Nothing's happened. We're just…best friends I guess."

Jackie and Rose started walking towards the milk again. After a minute, Jackie commented, "You want to be more."

Rose shrugged, keeping her face averted from her mother's knowing eyes. "He doesn't."

Jackie snorted and Rose knew she was refraining from saying something.

"I'd think you'd be happy about that. After all, it means, one day, he'll take me home and leave me."

"Rose…"

Rose snuck a glance at her mother, surprised to see her mother staring sadly at her as they walked. They stopped at the milk and Rose grabbed a bottle before Jackie finally continued.

"Rose, I want you to be happy. Not miserable, even if you are home with me."

Rose took a deep breath and gave her mother a smile that only held a hint of the sorrow the thought of being left behind caused her. "I'm happy now, Mum. A lot of the people, women, I've met have told me, 'The Doctor's worth the monsters and the heartbreak.' And they're right."

"Women?"

"Sarah Jane, she used to travel with the Doctor too. But he had to leave her behind one day. And then later we met Madame du Pompadour. She said it too…"

"The uncrowned queen of France? What was she like?" Trust her mother to know about royalty, even French royalty.

"Rude, mainly."

"Hmm…"

It was silent for a few minutes as the two women wandered into the vegetable aisle. Rose gave the carrots as much attention as she could to distract herself from the conversation. She picked out a bunch held together by a tough rubber band and moved to examine the leeks.

"Now I know something's wrong. You hate leeks."

"But you love them. And I doubt the Doctor and I will be around much longer."

"Still planning on going off with him, then?" Jackie reached past her daughter and grabbed a bunch of the leeks seemingly at random.

Rose straightened, "Of course. Wouldn't give it up for anything."

"It'll hurt worse if you have to later," Jackie told her, steering her towards the registers.

"Hang on. I need to get the Doctor his Jelly Babies."

Rose pulled away from her mother and turned down the middle aisle. She hurried through, dodging the other customers, until she found the candy aisle. She bit her lip as she wandered down it a bit more slowly.

A moment later, her mother had caught up to her. "Find them?"

Rose shook her head. "No, I can never find anything in the candy aisle when I'm actually looking for it." She grabbed a bag of Cadbury Chocolate Dots and kept hunting for the fruitier, and chewier, items. Finally, she found them. "Ah hah! They couldn't hide from me forever."

Jackie rolled her eyes. "You're becoming more and more like him the longer you're away."

Rose grinned at her mother as she threw the Jelly Babies in her basket.

Jackie shook her head, sighing as she guided her daughter to a check out. She pulled over a separator and began emptying her basket. Occasionally, her hand bumped one of Rose's as the other woman also emptied out her basket.

"Here," Jackie said after a minute and handed Rose her basket. "Put this under for me."

Rose took the basket and put it inside her own before turning to drop them in their place below the end of the belt. Her turn took her face first into a warm, hard surface. Rose jumped back, narrowly missing her mother. She stared up into dark eyes framed by longish auburn hair that fell haphazardly around a pale face. The man smiled a large, crooked smile down at Rose. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize you were there!"

"It's alright. I must have been standing too close." His voice held an odd accent Rose had never heard before, but its velvety, deep tone instantly worked to put her at ease.

Rose smiled back at him, never noticing that her free hand had started smoothing down her shirt. She jumped as the baskets hit her thigh when her other hand moved to follow the first's example.

"Let me take those," the man said, reaching out for the baskets.

"Ta." Rose handed them to him, feeling her face flush slightly. She'd faced insane homicidal aliens and now she could barely face meeting one cute guy? Though he wasn't just cute, he was extremely cute, almost as cute as the Doctor.

"Come on, Rose," Jackie broke in suddenly. "Start putting the groceries in bags. We need to get back."

"Bye," Rose told the man. He gave a little wave and she moved to start bagging their groceries. Rose could feel the man's eyes on her as she moved to start bagging the food. She put the candy in with the bread last and straightened up.

"Finished," Rose said. Her mother finished putting away her wallet and grabbed a bag. Rose looked over to wave at the man, but he was gone now. She blinked and followed her mother. He'd probably just found another line that was open before theirs.

The walk back was nice. The clouds had cleared away, leaving a bit of sunshine to offset any chilliness of that might be lingering from the night before. There were more people out now than there had been on the way to the store, so they were a bit slower this time.

They were just passing the post office when Jackie stopped. Oh, I forgot I needed to mail a letter."

"A letter? To who?"

"There's a contest going on for a new talk show I've started watching. I'll just be a minute."

Rose turned to start in and a flash caught her eye. She looked through the glass at the convenience store section's counter. Trisha Delaney was working the register, handing a box of cigarettes to her customer.

"Um, I think I'll wait out here, Mum." Rose moved to stand next to the doorway where she would be hit by the door or, hopefully, noticed by Trisha.

Jackie shrugged and put her bags at Rose's feet. "I'll be right back."

Rose watched her enter the Post Office then placed her own bags on the ground next her mother's. She slumped back against the wall behind her and took several deep breaths.

Seeing Trisha again had reminded her of Mickey, and made her feel guilty. Mickey had dated Trisha, but still been in love with Rose. And she had played with his heart until he'd preferred living in another dimension without any version of herself. She hadn't meant to hurt him, but she couldn't help it. Rose wondered if Trisha felt the same way about Mickey that he had felt about her. If she was as heartbroken at Mickey's loss as Rose was. She hoped not. She may have taken Mickey for granted, but she really did miss him.

She twisted around just enough to catch a glimpse of her mother. She'd lost a version of her in that world as well and now couldn't help worrying about losing her or the Doctor like she had that Jackie and Mickey. She knew it was a nearly impossible to keep them around forever. The Doctor would leave her one day and her mother would die eventually. But none of it would be because she hadn't done everything she could to keep them safe and happy. She just hoped to avoid hurting more Trisha Delaney's in the process.

The line must have been short for once, because Jackie reappeared just then. Rose straightened up and smiled at her mother.

"Just a minute, Rose. I want to mail this and then we can go," Jackie said as she sailed past.

Rose sighed and bent over, reaching for the grocery bags. A hand grabbed her arm in a grip that was so tight, it was painful. Rose's head snapped up to see her attacker. It was the man from the grocery, only he wasn't smiling now. She opened her mouth to scream.

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The Doctor sat slumped on the sofa. The television was on. Some brainless and utterly stupid (in his opinion anyway) game show was on, but he was ignoring it. The news was supposed to be on soon. At least he thought it was supposed to be soon. He hadn't really paid that much attention and only wanted it for something semi-intelligent to listen to as he waited for Rose and Jackie to come back.

He stood and wandered back into the spotless kitchen. He stopped in the doorway and looked around at the practically sparkling room. He'd be proud of the job he'd done cleaning, but that'd be too domestic and he hated the thought of being domestic. Still, he couldn't help but grin as he imagined Jackie's face when she realized the kitchen was cleaner than it had been before he cooked breakfast. More organized too.

He crossed the room and made himself a cup of tea. That was what he needed to help him pass the time, a good cup of tea to help his thought processes distract him from the fact he was alone in an early 21st century flat.

Rose had said they would only be a minute, but it had been far more than a minute since she had left. More than half an hour had past in fact. But then, he hadn't expected them to be fast. A mother and daughter would undoubtedly be catching up as quickly as possible on all the gossip and bits of the other's life they had missed while separated. The same was true on Gallifrey as well as Earth and a multitude of other worlds.

The Doctor sat down at the table and studied his tea. He'd chosen a cup that was a little larger with a vine of large blue flowers running around its middle. He figured this was Jackie's newest boyfriend's normal cup. His lips curled up in a smile as he remembered finding the fruit after the battle for Earth the last Christmas. He sighed as he also remembered Rose's relatively easy acceptance of the new him afterwards.

She'd hardly missed a beat, his Rose. She'd been so upset while he was sleeping and regenerating, even believed him dead at one point he was sure, but she'd backed him without missing a beat as he fought. And the only concern about coming with him again was whether or not he'd want her still. That last one was what had stunned the Doctor the most. After all they'd been through, all she'd done and given for his sake, she was afraid he might not want her.

The Doctor took a sip of his tea and wondered if there were any biscuits for him to munch on. He stood and rummaged around in the cabinet before finding an open package of shortbread. Since he knew Jackie wasn't fond of them, he figured she wouldn't mind if he ate a few of them. He could always get her more if she did. He sat down and sank back into both his snack and his thoughts.

He'd wanted to shout that he'd always want Rose that day, but he didn't. He'd simply taken her hand and pulled her as close as he'd dared while planning their next destination. And now the Doctor wondered if he should have told her that he'd always want her, even if he couldn't always have her. When Rose met Sarah Jane, he'd told her. Or he'd tried to. He'd really only managed the reasons why they couldn't be a team forever, as she had obviously thought they could be. And Rose had been terrified of being left behind ever since.

Rose's fear had been what had started the whole fiasco with the Tronch in the first place. Well, she'd had a little help when he discovered their plans to mine a nearby inhabited system's suns, even though that would destroy the system itself.

Rose had, as usual, wandered into trouble with her usual want to help. The Doctor often wondered if he had encouraged her love for helping people a bit too much, but he figured she'd get it right in the end. Rose had met a young woman dressed in a black robe and headdress crying in the street. Rose had stopped to see if she was alright.

"My father was all I had had left. N-now he's d-d-dead. I've no one else," the woman had told Rose. "And I can't make my next rent payment. I had to pay for his cremation instead."

Rose hadn't been able to tell if the story was real or not by looking at the woman, whose species looked to have evolved from a furry reptile, but fathers had always been a blind spot for her. "Doesn't the government have anything to help you?"

The woman had nodded, "Yes… But I don't want to go alone."

So Rose had walked with her to the other side of town and into a building that had resembled a very tall and enclosed colosseum. It probably looked even more like the colosseum now, the Doctor thought. Those "borrowed" explosives had apparently had more punch than he'd realized.

Once in the colosseum, which was actually the Planet's capital City Hall, the woman had led Rose to a desk and Rose had found herself taken into custody. The Doctor still cursed himself for not telling Rose that on this world, women were revered and cared for to the point of insanity. There, women would dress in black robes and headdresses and wander the streets, odd beacons of hope and shelter for all women in need. No one had to ask for help, only accept it.

Except the only thing Rose had needed help from was herself. As soon as they'd discovered she traveled with him, they had wanted to hunt him down and bring him in for abusing a young girl. How he had abused her, the Doctor didn't know. And he hadn't wanted to find out. So he had materialized the TARDIS right inside the government building. That was the point it had all gone severely downhill. Nothing would ever be simple where Rose Tyler was concerned.

The Doctor smiled as he dunked a biscuit into his tea. He sucked the liquid out and bit a piece off. He took a quick sip of his tea and dropped the biscuit. This incarnation seemed to share Jackie's opinion of shortbread. He took another sip of the tea and swished it around his mouth before swallowing.

He'd known when he took Rose on that she would be trouble, but she'd impressed him with her ability to keep up and even surprise him occasionally. She'd managed to shine a little life back into his life and he hadn't realized until then how cold he'd been. He was still lonely and believed he probably always would be without the telepathic touch of his people in his mind, but Rose had slowly started to make him less lonely. She'd become very important to him since he'd first picked her up and he couldn't imagine life without her anymore.

And that was why he both should and couldn't leave her. She was light and life, adventure and laughter. And he was a selfish bastard who needed her. So when he had promised to let her leave him before he left her, he had meant it. He'd also meant his silent vow never to allow her to be hurt again, especially if it was because of him.

The Doctor jumped to his feet, nearly spilling his remaining tea, as the front door opened. He bounded out into the living room, ready to greet Rose and Jackie with one of his crooked grins.

"Wow," the Doctor told Jackie as he moved to collect a few of the bags from her. "You must have bought enough to feed the entire estate!"

Jackie gasped, her eyes shooting up to the Doctor's face. "What are you doing here?"

The Doctor stopped halfway and felt himself go cold. "What do you mean, what am I doing here? Waiting for you two."

"Where's Rose then? Didn't she come back here?"

The Doctor's eyes grew wide. "No, why would she? She was grocery shopping with you."

"But I stopped to mail a letter and when I turned around, she was gone! I thought you'd called her and she'd come running. Wouldn't be the first time, you know!"

The Doctor rushed to grab his coat, but stopped as he noticed the talk show that had come on while he was in the kitchen had been interrupted by a frightened looking woman reporter.


	3. Open Your Eyes

**Author's Notes**

This took sooo long to get out. Mainly it was the editting though. And having a lot of headaches recently hasn't helped. Oh well...

Jackie's starting to figure in the story more prominently now. You can tell where Rose gets her spunk with Jackie's character, which kinda led to it for me. Oh well, don't think people will mind, right? Might also bring in Jack for a cameo. What do y'all'es think?

Lastly, again I hope I did ok on the British phrasing, especially with the news report. When I lived in Glasgow, didn't have a tv except for two weeks. So I never really got to watch even the news. Or Doctor Who, since it came out in its first new season while I was still there. (TT) Am happy I got to see it in America though.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed/bookmarked/favorited the story! I hope you enjoy! And as always, I love constructive criticism.

DWDW

The Doctor sat down slowly on the sofa, his eyes glued to the television. Jackie stood in the doorway, a horrified look on her face as she turned her head to watch as well.

"An alert has been issued warning the United Kingdom of a danger to its daughters. Young women between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five have gone missing the world over and are suspected of having been kidnapped in a world-wide terrorist plot. In the United Kingdom alone, nearly a hundred women have been reported as missing from their schools, homes and jobs.

"There are no absolute patterns in the kidnappings. The majority of these missing women were blonde, of medium height, and with a thin to average build. However, nearly a third did not fit in these parameters and the women were of varied backgrounds. Due to the seriousness of this situation, the Prime Minister herself issued a Press Release just a few minutes ago stating that all young women who do not absolutely need to leave their homes should not do so. If a woman needs to go out, it is advised that she go with at least one other person, and that both remain wary of their surroundings."

The young reporter, who herself seemed to fit the description of the majority of those taken, paused. She seemed to be trying to finish her report as quickly as possible. She'd hurried through her spiel so far, but now she stopped and looked around her. She visibly swallowed and the Doctor knew she was close to losing her composure on camera.

"The public is warned not to panic," she continued, her voice wavering a little. "Report any women you suspect of having been taken, but be certain that their whereabouts can not be ascertained before alerting the authorities. The police are asking for any and all information on the missing women and their captors. If any information is known, or you know of a woman who might be missing, please phone…"

The screen cut to a hotline number for the public to call and the Doctor turned to look at Jackie. Her skin was a pale white he had rarely seen on a human before and the Doctor knew he was going to have a bad situation on his hands in a few minutes.

The Doctor stood and moved over to take Jackie's arm. He felt it shake under his fingers as he guided her to the sofa. "Sit down, Jackie. You'll pass out in a minute if you don't, and Rose won't appreciate that when I get her out of this mess."

Jackie stared up at the Doctor as he helped her to sit. "You will rescue her, yeah? You'll bring my baby home?"

The Doctor managed to twist his face into a tight smile that he hoped was reassuring. "Of course, I always do, don't I?"

Jackie nodded, "But sometimes I wonder… She doesn't always come home happy or-or unhurt."

The Doctor averted his eyes and leaned over the blonde woman to grab his coat. "I'll bring her home, Jackie. I will bring her home. There's nothing in this universe that can stop me."

He turned and began walking to the door in long quick strides. He threw his coat on with an absent grace that showed just how determined he'd become to Jackie. She knew she hadn't seen him this upset since Christmas, after he'd finally woken up and defeated the Sycorax.

"Wait for me!" Jackie was up and just behind him before she even had time to register she was moving. "I'm coming with you."

The Doctor turned and gave her an irritated glare reminiscent of the Doctor she first knew. "Jackie. This might be dangerous. I told you I'd bring your daughter home and I will, just trust me."

Jackie shook her head. "I know you will and I know it will be dangerous, but she's my daughter! I'm not waiting here for you to go and rescue her! I'm going to help this time."

The Doctor glared at her a moment longer, then turned on his heel and continued walking. "Fine, I don't have time to argue with you. But you will do as you are told. You will not get in the way. And you will not touch anything in the TARDIS."

Jackie grinned as she quickly locked the door to her flat and ran to keep up with the Doctor. "So, what are you going to do? Do you even know who has her?"

"I know who has them. First, I have to discuss a few things with Harriet Jones." He threw a look that was only mildly curious over his shoulder. "She is still Prime Minister, right? Don't think they'd have thrown her out yet."

Jackie shook her head. "She's still Prime Minister. If it weren't for this though, she'd have been forced out by a vote of no confidence at the end of the week. It's been all over the news, how could you have missed it?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Coronation Street is much more interesting. Your world's news is more gossip than news."

Jackie scowled at him. "Well, at least you have taste in your programmes. Even if you did just insult us."

The Doctor pulled out his key and unlocked the TARDIS. He hurried in, not even checking to be sure Jackie was following. Jackie closed the door behind her and trotted up the ramp to the stand beside him at the console. She watched as he brought up a computer monitor and began flashing through screens at an alarming rate.

"Can you even read that," she asked in an incredulous voice.

"Yes," the Doctor told her without looking at her.

His eyes remained on the monitor, until finally he settled on a screen with what looked like a mobile number on it. The Doctor grinned and began fiddling with the keyboard that had appeared presumably when the monitor had. Or at least Jackie hadn't noticed it when she'd been on the TARDIS before.

"That's Harriet Jones's private mobile number." The Doctor turned and fixed Jackie with the sternest stare she had ever been subjected to. "Don't say a word." He tapped a key and the sound of ringing filled the air.

"Hello," a voice curious, but hassled-sounding male voice said.

"This is the Doctor. Tell Harriet Jones I need to speak with her about the missing girls immediately."

There was a pause, then the tight voice of the Prime Minister came through. "Yes, Doctor. What do you know?"

"I need to speak with you, Harriet Jones, Prime Minister. These girls are not being taken by terrorists. They're aliens. And they're early."

"Well, thank you for the tip, Doctor, but I'm sure Torchwood—"

"No." The Doctor's voice turned grave and the room seemed to darken with his mood. "Those girls, women, will be on whatever ship you destroy. And you won't be able to destroy them all, but just that one will be enough to start a war which will annihilate the human race. They will turn their weapons on this planet and reduce it to rubble before returning home to repatriate their captives."

There was a long silence. Then, "You are sure of all this? Couldn't even the great Doctor be wrong?"

"No. You brought this on yourselves when you destroyed the Sycorax. They've decided they want to be allied to you, so they are choosing who to strengthen the alliance pact with."

Another long silence followed and both the Doctor and Jackie knew Harriet Jones was weighing her options. Finally the Doctor snapped.

"Do you think I would be contacting you if it weren't otherwise? And they have Rose! If you shoot, you might not just be killing some faceless woman from America or Australia or Wales! You could be killing Rose!"

More silence, then a sigh could be heard. "Meet me at New 10 Downing. I'm there now. And you better bring proof."

There was a click as the Prime Minister hung up. The Doctor threw a half-hearted grin at Jackie. "Seems she hasn't forgotten Christmas."

Jackie snorted. "Who would? You destroyed her with six words. What were they anyway?"

The Doctor pushed the monitor back into the console and turned a few dials. "We're here!"

"What? But all you did was twiddle a couple knobs!"

The Doctor turned and bounded out of the TARDIS. Jackie rushed to keep up, but stopped as she discovered herself to be stepping out into a large marble entryway filled with soldiers, who just happened to be pointing nasty looking automatic weapons at the Doctor and her. "Doctor?"

The Doctor looked the closest soldier straight in the eye and told him, "Tell Harriet Jones, the Doctor's here."

Rose sat chained between a young Nigerian girl and an American woman about her own age. Each of her fellow captives were chained to another, and they to another, in a seemingly endless chain of frightened human women. Some of the girls Rose had seen so far looked as though they were barely eligible to be in high school, but the oldest she'd seen looked as though she was just about to hit thirty. Whoever it was that had kidnapped her was only interested in young women. A i _lot_ /i of young women.

The room she sat in was large enough to fit a football stadium, yet it was full of captives and pillows. Rose seriously doubted anyone else could be fit in. And the American woman next to her had been telling her that there was another room just like this one, also filled to capacity. Rose hadn't noticed, she'd been too busy trying to fight off her "host" when she'd been brought in.

The door opened and another young girl, who looked to be about fifteen, was dragged in, screaming and crying for her mother. Her captor pushed her down onto the nearest pillow, which she appeared to share with another girl about the same age as far as Rose could see, and chained her to her pillow-mate. He patted the girl on the head, then turned and left. The girl's sobs rose and several more joined in.

"There goes the chorus again," said the American woman next to Rose. "Every time one goes, they all go. It's like being in the nursery. God, I hope someone remembered to call my boss to tell him I wouldn't be in…"

"How would they know to? You were kidnapped," Rose pointed out.

The American woman flinched. "I wonder what they're going to do to us?" The woman's voice was becoming lower, as though she herself was on the verge of tears.

Rose stared intently at the head in front of hers, studying the way its hair fell in tidy ringlets she was sure she'd never be able to get. "Well, they don't seem to want to hurt us… I mean, they haven't been rough with us or anything. They even gave us pillows when they could have simply left us to sit on the cold floor."

The American woman snorted and anger began creeping into her voice. "They kidnapped us! Isn't that enough? I don't care about pillows! If I don't work, I can't pay my bills or save for college!"

"All I meant was that we've not been harmed, which gives me hope we'll get out of this."

The American shrugged, "How long are we going to last like this, though. Are they gonna—gonna start doing experiments on us or somethin'?"

Rose shook her head. "We'll be fine. I know you won't believe me, but we will be rescued. Someone—Someone will come for us. He'll rescue us and get us back safely."

The American let out a harsh laugh. "You're insane, girl. You know that? They've driven you nuts! Who's gonna be able to rescue us up here? Shining armor doesn't come equipped with oxygen or engine packs, darlin'. Then again, knights don' come with shining armor anymore either."

Rose grinned. "Mine comes with better!"

The American woman looked over at Rose and seemed to regard her British contemporary with a type of bemused sadness. "I thought that once too. Turns out, his better got him with ventilation where he couldn't afford no ventilation."

Rose shivered at the implications. "He hasn't failed me yet," she murmured quietly.

The American woman didn't answer and Rose was left to chase her own thoughts again. Only this time, they didn't quite settle on her own situation. Instead, she wondered what the Doctor was doing.

Did he know she was missing yet? Had her mother told him about their shopping trip? Did she give him his Jelly Babies?

Rose snorted in laughter, attracting the attention of several of the women around her. She ducked her head and avoided making eye contact, allowing the American to tell them she was cracking up. It might be true, she thought, if she was hoping the Doctor had gotten his Jelly Babies at a time like this.

But then it always came back to him, didn't it? And she knew he was her only hope of getting out of here alive. That was always the way it went. Except that once, on Satellite Five. Although, did it count when she didn't remember what happened, only knew she was responsible for what happened afterwards?

She shook her head and sighed. The Nigerian girl laid a hand on top of hers. Rose glanced up at her. The girl smiled at her and Rose found herself smiling back. The Nigerian had one of the sweetest smiles she'd ever seen. Or was it sweet simply because it was what she'd needed at that moment? Rose didn't know and she decided it didn't really matter.

The door opened again and three more women entered the room, unescorted this time. They wore black robes and black headdresses. Rose felt a twinge of fear, but she pushed that aside. The faces were covered by veils connected to the headdresses and she remembered the Doctor saying that the Tronch thought it a dishonor to hide the face of a woman. Still, she decided she'd better be careful. Life with the Doctor had taught her nothing if not to be aware of i _all_ /i the possibilities.

"Please stand and prepare yourselves for inspection. One of you will be chosen to become a very fortunate woman. A hero of your people and remembered for all time among both our peoples." The flat accent and slight echo that followed the words told Rose that the speaker was one of the women who had just entered.

Rose strained her neck to see as far around the room as possible, but it didn't seem that anyone was particularly motivated to be the first to stand. She could understand that. The voice had her all but convinced that these were the Tronch and she wanted to bring as little attention to herself as possible. Of course, that whole incident had been a hundred years before, so she had probably been forgotten. She hoped she had been forgotten. But the Doctor had caused quite a lot of damage during his rescue… Rose was wearing a high-necked t-shirt, but she zipped her hoodie up higher anyway.

One of the Tronch women leaned down and pulled the last girl to arrive back onto her feet. The girl was so terrified that her legs gave out from under her and she flopped back down into the lap of the woman next to her.

"Do not be afraid, dear Earth sisters. Please stand and follow us to be inspected. There is nothing to fear, you will not be harmed."

The American woman snorted along with a few others as several fits of scared laughter rang out about the room.

The Tronch woman leaned down and reached to pulled the girl off, but jerked back at the last moment. Rose couldn't tell why at first, then the woman who had caught the girl before waved a hand at the Tronch woman, as though to tell her to stay back. The Tronch stayed still the woman slowly got up, supporting the girl she held as she also stood. Others soon followed and, a few minutes later, Rose stood up as well, secure in the knowledge she couldn't be seen very well through the surrounding women.

"Follow us," the Tronch woman said. Then one of the Tronch women turned and led the way back out the door.

The Human women were encouraged to follow by the remaining Tronch, starting with the terrified teen and her self-appointed guardian. The queue to leave the room was slow, but within ten minutes, Rose was shuffling out as well, her hair brushed forward to hide her face as much as possible from the Tronch. The Tronch didn't seem to notice, simply told her to follow the rest to the right and into the room at the end of the hall.

The hall wasn't that long, but the walk seemed interminable. Rose's stomach felt in knots and she kept swallowing, her eyes darting around to see through her hair and make sure no one would recognize an escaped prisoner from a hundred years before. How long did the Tronch live, anyway? Was it possible for them to recognize her? She closed her eyes as the line paused for a minute, trying to regain her courage, and only opened them when she felt the tug that meant they were moving again. Everyone was shuffling, their feet making rustling, and occasionally squeaking, sounds as they moved. Rose felt a hand enclose around the one behind her and jumped slightly. For one mad moment she thought it might be the Doctor, but she turned her head to see that it was only the American woman.

The woman smiled at her and nodded forward. "Pass it forward," she whispered.

Rose smiled back and reached to take the Nigerian girl's hand as well. The girl jerked the same as Rose, but didn't look back. Rose lengthened her stride as much as possible so that she was just behind the girl.

"Pass it forward, take the next one's hand," Rose whispered as soon as she was near enough to be heard. She saw the girl's head bow forward slightly and let herself fall back to shuffle where she had been before.

It wasn't long after that they moved through the next door and into a room identical to the one they had left. Even the pillows all looked the same. The only difference here was that an extra room was set up adjacent to this one at the very back. In it stood three Tronch men and one Tronch woman, dressed the same as the previous women had been, though without the veil this time. Behind these four sat a handful of Human women, their heads bowed and their hands apparently tied behind their backs.

The Tronch woman that had led them there stood just inside the door and directed to pass in front of the four at the back, showing them their faces, before following the wall around to find a seat again on a pillow in the room. The room's air seemed to grow thinner as Rose approached the back, but she was relieved to notice that several others seemed to have the same problem. She could hear several panting and see a few on the other side of the room look as though they were as well.

The line seemed to move faster now and before Rose knew it, she was about to pass in front of the four Tronch. And then, she was passing them.

Shuffling past, her hand still in her bondmates' grips, she turned her face towards to be scrutinized and ignored the discomfort of having her hair tickle her nose and eyelashes. She looked past her captors at the silently sobbing women curled up together. Their hands were tied behind their backs and none of them looked comfortable.

A clawed hand landed gently on Rose's shoulder, stopping her from continuing. Rose jumped, but managed to contain her squeak of fear. The claw grasped her jaw and lifted her chin before brushing her hair, again gently and even reverently, out of her face. The second Tronch in cocked his head to the side.

"There is something about this one…" he said.

The other three crowded in and Rose felt her stomach sink even as her eyes widened. She looked past them again to meet the terrified gaze of the other women. She swallowed and tried to lower her head. A smaller clawed hand, the Tronch woman, lifted it back.

"She seems rather ordinary amongst the Humans… Though that might work in our favor." The woman's voice was soft and detached, as though she didn't really realize that she had just insulted Rose.

Rose glared at the Tronch woman. The other's eyes widened. "Can she understand us? How can she understand Tronch?"

Rose bit her lip, knowing she had trapped herself. She closed her eyes for a moment and sent a silent apology to the Doctor. She was guessing her blunder just made it impossible that she'd ever see him again. She opened her eyes just as the Tronch male in front of her spoke.

"Well, she is woman." The words were not spoken to be sarcastic, but held even more reverence and respect than his touch had.

"Yes, but there are only two women can speak and understand the tongues of other cultures." The woman paused as though for effect and Rose reflected that she really wished the TARDIS hadn't chosen to give the Tronch woman such an old style of speech. Of course, that might just be the closest it could get in meaning… And that thought unsettled Rose even more. "The first is the Prophetess, who sees and knows all as the chosen one of the Goddess. The second…is the Beleaguered One who first told of this world almost a century ago."

Rose blinked and tried her best to look innocent and insignificant. She somehow thought she was failing miserably at it, but was almost positive she had succeeded in looking terrified.

The Tronch man in front of her turned to the first Tronch she had passed. "Bring me the data on the Beleaguered One."

The man turned and ran through a door that slid open in the side of the smaller room.

The third Tronch man reached out and turned Rose's face towards him. "She does not look to be a hundred. Might this not be a descendant?"

"You remember the legend and the reports, don't you, O'rong? She was a girl, stolen from her mother's bosom by a time traveler, who would only occasionally bring her home so that he might wash her eternal tears from the floor of his ship," the Tronch in front of her, who seemed to be their leader, said.

"So, perhaps we have found the Beleaguered One then?" O'rong's voice seemed chastised and Rose was amused to see his olive-green skin grow darker.

"Perhaps," the woman replied, still staring at Rose.

The three Tronch fell silent, their eyes roaming over Rose as though to memorize her. Rose shifted uncomfortably and glanced over at the American woman. The woman gave her hand a tight squeeze as their wide eyes met. Rose took a deep breath and was embarrassed to note that it shuddered. She was even more embarrassed when she realized tears were starting to burn at the back of her eyes.

Rose swallowed as the Tronch man returned and handed his leader a large round electronic pad. The leader tapped a few things in, glancing up at Rose every now and then. Then he passed it to the woman, who repeated his performance.

"It certainly seems to be her," the Tronch woman said.

Leader nodded, "Only one way to be certain…"

"Yes, the mark we unwittingly gave to identify the Beleaguered One."

Rose bristled at the woman's words, then gasped as one of the leader's claws snapped out. It cut Rose's t-shirt and hoodie open from the collar to half way between her breasts. Rose gasped and tried to cover her chest with her hands, but screams were erupting around her and the women on both sides were backing away. Her hands were pulled from her sides and she was left open. Her chest bare and the fresh, red scar bright against her pale skin.

The Tronch woman nodded and stepped forward. She lifted one claw to gently caress Rose's cheek. "Welcome, Beleaguered One. You can rejoice now. We bring you, and your world through you, the redemption you must never have realized you could have."

Prime Minister Harriet Jones looked almost exactly as she had the last time the Doctor had seen her, the only real differences being the dark circles under her eyes, a few new wrinkles, and the cold that seemed to emanate from her person. She stood watching the Doctor with a stance that clearly spoke of how she felt about him. He was a reluctant ally, an enemy of the enemy, but not necessarily her friend. Not after what he'd done to her last time.

The Doctor nodded and gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Harriet Jones. Still Prime Minister I see."

"No thanks to you, Doctor." Her tone reflected her demeanor and it saddened the Doctor that it had come to this. He didn't regret what he had done though. Murder was murder, and he really hated murder. "Why did you come here? And why should I listen to you?"

"The Tronch, a species that evolved from a type of reptilian mammal--" A snort interrupted the Doctor and he glared at the offender. "Not all species fall into the same categories as they do on Earth." The snorter, a man who looked to be one of the aides by his clothes, flushed and slipped behind one of the soldiers. "As I was saying, the Tronch are a species that value the safety and honor of their world very highly. When you killed the Sycorax, they did not die as quietly as you had hoped. It would seem they were reporting back when the blast struck them. And now Earth has a reputation. A reputation that has made the Tronch wish for an alliance to prevent them becoming the next victims of the Earth."

Harriet Jones's lips thinned and her eyes narrowed. "So this is my fault?"

"There was a bit of bad luck involved, but yes. It is."

Jackie picked just that moment to find her backbone and pushed up next to the Doctor. "And what about my Rose? She's been taken by these things and it's your fault!"

Harriet Jones didn't seem to even notice as Jackie gave the Prime Minister her best glare, the one that could make even the Doctor quake in his plimsolls. The Prime Minister turned her head towards another young aide, who shook his head. She turned back to the Doctor with a glare to match Jackie's.

"Doctor, you told me Rose Tyler was among the missing, but she's not on any of the lists."

"We had just realized she was missing when I discovered what was happening."

"How did you figure it out? What was happening, I mean."

"Rose's disappearance, my memory of Earth history and your television news reports covering the disappearances. They'll be pleased to know you're attempting to protect your women, even if it is a bit of the closing the barn door after the horse has escaped."

The Doctor thought he saw a flash of anger in Harriet Jones's eyes, but it reverted back to the cold, blank look so quickly, he couldn't be sure. And she certainly gave nothing away by her voice.

"I thought you said this was early. So how did you know then?"

"Time is fluid. You weren't supposed to blow up that ship. It wasn't even supposed to be here."

"Then why was it here?" A bit of annoyed frustration was beginning to seep into her voice now. The Doctor was glad of that. This wasn't the Harriet Jones he had once cared for, and even if she had done something heinous in his eyes, he would really prefer that spark to this lifelessness. She would need it if this planet was to survive the Tronch.

"Time is fluid, Prime Minister. Any little tiny change a thousand light years from here could have catastrophic effects on Earth. Or no effect at all."

Harriet Jones's eyes narrowed and the Doctor knew she was starting to catch on. "You keep mentioning time, Doctor. Why?"

The Doctor sighed. He hated when others played dumb, the Prime Minister had to have figured what he was out by now. No matter how many viruses he sent out on the net, there would always be enough information on him for the governments and any interested, which there always seemed to be many, to figure out what he was.

"He travels in time as well as space!"

The Doctor didn't know what surprised him more, that it was Jackie who'd said it or that she'd said it with a note of pride in her voice. As though he was a beloved family member she was bragging about. He shot Jackie a small look of surprise before smiling and nodding at the Prime Minister.

"I've saved this world many times, from all types of destruction and invasion, including ones orchestrated by humans themselves. This is not an invasion. It's not particularly friendly, but it's not an invasion. They want to ally with you. Their methods are simply a bit…skewed. You'll have to do some fast talking. And you, Harriet Jones, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and quite possibly the most powerful female leader on this world, will be the best representative for this world." The Doctor paused a moment, making sure to catch Harriet Jones's eyes with his own hard stare. "With my help."

"Your help, Doctor," scoffed the aide that had snorted before. He was obviously either too young to know better or too ambitious for his own good in the Doctor's opinion. "Why would she need your help? She's handled—"

"Every invasion she's handled has been with the Doctor's help," Jackie snapped.

The Doctor placed a placating hand on Jackie's shoulder. "That, and the Tronch revere the female gender to almost the point of insanity. But this has its drawbacks as well as its benefits. Normally, they wouldn't listen to just any woman. However, they do believe in and respect Warrior Women as the right of the woman to defend her young, her family and her home. If Harriet Jones accepts my help and uses my knowledge, whomever they choose, as well as the Earth, might just survive all this."

"Choose? What do you mean choose, Doctor?" Harriet Jones was sounding much more like her old self now—sharp, but inquisitive—only a small portion of the chilliness remained.

The Doctor's lips twisted into a deep frown. "The Tronch normally solidify alliances by marrying into the other tribe, or planet in this case. They will be choose a bride from the women and girls they have collected and broker a settlement around her before marrying her to the highest ranking single royal among them. The day after the wedding she will be taken to the sacred lands…" The Doctor paused a moment, then continued. "She will become your world's equivalent of a Saint to the Tronch and celebrated for a month before being given her own annual feast day, but…"

The room went quiet. The Doctor gave Jackie's shoulder another tight squeeze. Jackie let out a soft sob.

The door opened and a man rushed into the room. He stopped, looking startled at the tense atmosphere he'd been met with, then moved to whisper in the Prime Minister's ear. Harriet Jones nodded and met the Doctor's eyes again.

"All right, Doctor. They've asked to meet with Earth's leaders. What do we do?"

The Doctor grinned. "We save the women of Earth!"


End file.
